Amisha Gupta’s First Year at Work

I. Synopsis

The case discussed various journal entries of a fresh graduate’s journey in the corporate world. The lead
character, Amisha Gupta, is a new hire at Xciting- one of India’s top IT and IT enabled Service Company,
a company many has aspired to work for. She went through a series of trainings and examinations, where
she met her newfound friends. Together, they are evaluated for their appropriate work domain and
relocation assignment in India. However, things were not as good as her ideals and expectations. She
experienced location anxiety, culture shock, and difficulty dealing with some co-workers along with her
concerns on cancelled projects. Because her first yearly review is fast approaching, she began to see this
as an opportunity to voice out various concerns.

II. Statement of the Main Problem

Based on how the case was presented, there is a clear mismatch of expectations between Amisha and
Xciting. Newcomer onboarding practices should be improved. Both sides have failed each other in the past
year due to the lack of communication on each other’s deliverables and requirements. Because of this,
sentiments from Amisha and the management have piled up and are waiting to be laid out during the annual
review.

III. SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weakness

1. Newcomers at Xciting through a very structured 1. Lack of communication from managers

and in depth training
2. Some people are overworked
2. Good trainers- passionate on their job , teaches
from experience, and encourage to ask questions 3. Lack of teamwork and weak work relationships
among co-workers.
3. Training involves sessions on reorienting
newcomers to professional work culture and
behavior

Opportunities Threat

1. Potential relocation 1. Software services business was heavily project

2. Xciting is among the top and most admired IT
company in India which is also a good training
ground for fresh graduates
based
2. Projects could get terminated prematurely and
leave employees on “bench” which could impact
pay and result to technical obsolescence

IV. Identification of the required decision

1. For Amisha
 a. Whether to truthfully disclose her experience and sentiments in the past year

b. Whether to stay or leave the company

2. For Xciting:

a. Whether to implement stricter hiring process

b. Whether to access existing employee orientation and job specific training program

c. Whether to conduct checkings on how managers handle subordinates

d. Whether to conduct overall employee performance and behavior assessment and determine work
related issues on a periodic basis

3. To decide on the underlying reason for the discrepancy in work expectations.

V. Review or identification of the options

1. For Amisha:

a. Whether to truthfully disclose her experience and sentiments in the past year

Amisha should openly discuss her sentiments so that the management would be aware of her issues. With
awareness, the management could implement their action plan and have an opportunity to treat
subordinates better. She should be willing to arrive at a win-win resolution with management and strive on
her side to have a better working environment in the next year.

b. For Amisha- Whether to stay or leave the company

Xciting is among the admired organization for which many Indians aspire to work for. Amisha must not
leave the company and instead, seek assistance from immediate supervisors, extend effort to complete
tasks within deadlines, and try harder to socialize with her coworkers,

The case stated that the forgoing years has observed severe period of depression in Indian information
technology sector for engineering students, sometimes waiting for around one year for employment. She
only waited 4 months to get an interview and got hired vs. others who waited longer.

She is working in her hometown in Bangalore’s office where there is significant opportunity in getting
practical experience to different software and programming projects.

Based on her journal, she is still immature and needs more years of experience to learn the intricacies of
the corporate world. After acquiring experience, she could go for career options elsewhere.

2. For Xciting:

a. Whether to implement stricter hiring process

b. Whether to access existing employee orientation and job specific training program

c. Whether to conduct checkings on how managers handle subordinates

d. Whether to conduct overall employee performance and behavior assessment and determine
work related issues on a periodic basis
Items a-d involves the participation of the Human Resources Department of Xciting and this entail additional
cost to the company. However, because the company is growing, these actions should be considered to
improve employee relationships.

3. To decide on the underlying reason for the discrepancy in work expectations.

The following are the noted reasons:

1. Gupta expected to socialize among co-workers.

2. Decided to remain idle when she saw other employees not being serious at work like
her

3. She likes to discuss ideas with colleagues but others does not socialize with her and
does not go out together during lunch, dinner, or tea.

4. She feels alone when she gets into trouble. She is not supported by her team during
work issues as they expect her to do her job by her own.

5. Amisha thought she is never to remain idle. She is proactive learner which made her
expect that Xciting is also proactive in giving tasks. This inconsistency resulted in dismay
on her part.

6. The adaption of company culture by Gupta. She experience a culture shock and found
it hard to adjust.

VI. Criteria selection

Factors to be included in the criteria selection include the following:

1. Emotional assessment of employees

2. Work volume and work pressure on managers

3. Work performance of new hires

4. Regularization of non performing new hires

VII.Criteria based analysis

1. Emotional assessment of employees

Individuals have different emotional tolerance. Emotional Quotient test should be part of the part of the
assessments during the hiring process.

2. Work volume and work pressure on managers

Maybe the reason why managers forego subordinate relationships is the extreme work pressure that they
do not have time to resolve conflicts as they focus on job results. Managers may overlook this aspect and
assumes that everyone in the team is okay if nobody is complaining.

3. Work performance of new hires

New hires should constantly be mentored and monitored. They provide fresh ideas and they are flexible
when it comes to training since they are new. A superior should overlook their progress until they are able
to stand on their own.

4. Regularization of non performing new hires

There should be a probation period of 3-6 months for new employees. Within this period, managers can
already evaluate employee strength and weaknesses. They should not regularize employees showing
unacceptable behavior.

VIII. Recommended Decision

It is important to look into the concerns of the employees and provide immediate action so that concerns
would not be worsened.

Fresh graduates usually expect a lot as their knowledge is purely academic. They should be guided and
treated well especially in their early years in the company. They should not be left alone in important projects
when they still lack the technical competence. All talents should be well taken care of regardless of rank
and tenure.

Deliverables should be well communicated. Toxic work cultures should be eliminated and open
communication should be encouraged. Higher management intervention through group activities and
trainings is essential to develop good working relationships.

IX. Proposed Actions or detailed action plan to implement recommendation

1. Have a continuous leadership training program on the management level

2. Create various team building activities to foster teamwork

3. Conduct periodic employee and work environment assessment to determine various issues to be
resolved in a timely manner

4. Improve personality development aspect alongside skills training for the betterment of employees and
the Xciting in the long run.